The Dawn of Twilight- A MaNan OS

It was 7pm, oh, how she loved this time of day, enticing in its slow dance towards midnight.

She loved sitting by the small window, that overlooked the rose gardens surrounding the house.Their fresh fragrant bloom always took her back to the past, those days of gay reckless abandon. She was 17, when she first met him, a dew-eyed, rosy cheeked small town girl whose head was filled with dreams of a normal life, he was a snobbish, elitist boy for whom the world had no rules.

It was almost hate at the first sight, she thought, a hate that was all powering in its passion. Oh how they had clashed,clashed like two opposing forces that could only repel each other at that point of time. How had it turned to love?, the all consuming love of their lives, a love that seems to have even transcended death.

He had gone five years back, in typical Manik style, in a blaze of sudden quick death at the twilight of dawn. Even in death Manik Malhotra was a showman. " Nandu" he had whispered, " Fireflies, so beautiful", a beautiful smile lining his face and then just like that he was gone, taking the dark and her light with him.

The little girl skipped into the room with her little guitar strapped onto her back. " Nandu Dadi. look at me, Mein hoon Monster" she ordered imperiously. The old woman smiled, her wrinkles extending across her face as she did. She is all Manik, she chuckled, the imperious tone, the confident "I'll take on the world" smirk. "Ayyappa", the little girl exclaimed, "I cant get this song right Dadi", a small frown now lining her rosy cheeks. Nandu's frown ,that's what Manik had called it. He loved teasing her about it . " all you did was frown at me Nandu" he had laughed as he recounted all times she frowned at him during their initial days. " And now all I want you to do is frown at me", he had chuckled loudly, earning a disapproving smirk from her that made him double over in laughter.

The sudden buzzing, and the room had lit up, a vision of golden lights hovering around her. She felt him before she saw him, after all her heart had skipped a beat, he still made her feel like that young 17 year old from SPACE. Time had passed by slowly in the last five years but atlast , the fireflies had come for her after all, come to take her home finally. She smiled into the darkness, a radiant smile of joy, one that could have illuminated the sun and more. "Fireflies, so beautiful" she whispered and just like that she was gone, gone into the dawn of twilight.